28 killed in bus accident on Mumbai-Pune expressway, 27 injured

28 others were injured when a speeding tempo rammed into the mini-bus.

In one of the worst road accidents in Maharashtra, 28 members of a marriage party were killed and 28 others injured when a tempo rammed a stationery bus on the Mumbai-Pune expressway at Khalapur.

The incident happened early on Sunday at 1 am when the victims were returning to Pune after attending a wedding in Ghatkopar in Mumbai.

According to the Khalapur police, the tyre of one of the two buses carrying the marriage party got punctured after which the driver parked it alongside the road. As the tyre was being replaced, many of the bus passengers got out of the bus and for their safety sat in between the two stationery buses.

However as fate would have it, a speeding tempo dashed from behind into one of the mini buses. The impact was so strong that the bus hurtled towards those sitting on the road and crushed them.

Police officials said that 11 people died on the spot while the rest died at the Panvel and Pune hospitals where they were admitted.

The dead included 15 women and seven children. An 11-month-old girl had a miraculous escape but her mother could not be saved. The newlyweds, however, had a lucky escape as they were returning to Pune in a Tata Sumo.

Superintendent of police, Raigad, R D Shinde, said that the tempo driver was at fault. Identified as Somnath Padthare (23), the tempo driver has been arrested. He only sustained injuries on his left hand.

Sopan Kokate, the grandfather of Manisha who was married into the Bhavle family said from Ambedkar Nagar in Ghatkopar that the whole family was shattered with the news. "Manisha was my eldest granddaughter. My son took a loan to get her married. My only fear is that Manisha is not held responsible for this incident and harassed by her relatives," said Kokate.